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Product Description
From Amazon.com
This is an extraordinary record; the emotional impact, both of the music and the performance, is almost overwhelming. Thomas Quasthoff's voice is uniquely, incomparably beautiful, unfailingly pure, dark and warm as velvet. His breath is endless, while his range of dynamics, color, and inflection seems infinite. Quasthoff's diction is clear, and he melds words and music to reach into the heart of every song, drawing the listener into the changing moods with riveting intensity, but also with the utmost simplicity and immediacy of expression. The 19 Brahms songs are grouped by opus numbers. Most are relatively unfamiliar and, with a few exceptions, somber and gloomy; Quasthoff brings out their melancholy, tenderness, yearning, despair, remorse, and turbulence, creating shades of darkness with vocal and musical subtlety. Liszt's Three Petrarca Sonnets are miniature Italian operas, with dramatic recitatives and meltingly lyrical, romantic arias. The piano introductions and interludes are true Lisztian virtuoso pieces. They are sung and played by pianist Justus Zeyen to the hilt but without histrionics. Then comes the surprise: a lovely ballad on the famous poem "The Lorelei," and a touching love song that later became the famous "Liebestraum." The program ends with another beautiful, serene love song. --Edith Eisler
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Quest continues, 10 Jun 2000
By "tenor_in_training" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Brahms and Liszt - Lieder (Audio CD)
I can't even begin to describe how excited I am about this marvelous artist. Everything he does, he does with such class and such mastery one begins to wonder if there is music that he would not sing well. My fascination started with Mr. Quasthoff's spellbinding "Mozart Arias" album and after listening to this one I am certain that he is the most interesting star on the music scene right now.Here we have a very difficult Programme - all lieder, all very complex with beautiful poetry that Quasthoff makes sure to annunciate with remarkable precision. To my great surprise and delight, he sings Liszt's Sonetti di Petrarca, usually associated with higher voices and even with tenors (for example tenor José Carreras or baritone Thomas Hampson). But Quasthoff does not only sing all the high notes, but gives his deep powerful voice the young, romantic and ardent colorings. And the poem Die Loreley seems written for Quasthoff's voice and only for it, he ravels in its ethereal beauty and the fact that we are accustomed to hear it as a piano solo does not take away from melancholic enjoyment we get from it in this form.
With Brahms's lieder, so different from Schubert's or Schumann's, Quasthoff uses subtle forcefulness combined with mournful overtones, he reminds us that there's a lot more to be discovered in this music. Opera fans and classical fans (and sometimes those are different folks), you don't want to miss this singing sensation. Don't delay, get this album now!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quasthoff in mostly melancholy vein, 20 Jun 2001
By klavierspiel "klavierspiel" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Brahms and Liszt - Lieder (Audio CD)
Thomas Quasthoff and pianist Justus Zeyen, a sensitive duo partner, offer an interesting collection of songs by two composers of the late nineteenth century who were diametrically opposed in aesthetic sensibility. Quasthoff is on the upside of a major career and this CD supplies clear evidence why: his warm, darkly expressive baritone falls easily on the ear, but he is much more than a beautiful voice--his clear diction and attention to words brings the mostly slow and melancholy music to life. That being said, the preponderance of dark moods on this disc is a bit too much of a good thing--the overall impression is slightly monotonous, through no fault of the performers. It may be noted that the version of the Petrarch Sonnets Quasthoff performs on this album is not Liszt's own rendering for baritone, but the earlier, more vocally spectacular version originally conceived for a tenor voice, transposed downward.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful CD, 29 Jun 2001
By jhorro - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Brahms and Liszt - Lieder (Audio CD)
Thomas Quasthoff brings great illumination to these works. The Brahms lieder are sung well, but the items by Liszt are inspired. It is obvious that Quasthoff is personally involved in the meaning of these works. The recording focuses his voice superbly and Zeyen gives his soloist much freedom. People who admire Quasthoff or love romantic lieder should not hesitate on any account.
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